Fence for enclosing impurities floating on water

ABSTRACT

A FENCE FOR ENCLOSING IMPURITIES FLOATING ON WATER, HAVING AN ELONGATED TWO LAYER PIECE OF MATERIAL WITH SPACED APART POCKETS PROVIDED BY CONNECTIONS TO THE TWO LAYERS OF MATERIAL WHICH POCKETS HAVE OPENINGS FACING ONE LONGITUDINAL EDGE OF THE MATERIAL AND FLOATS AND WEIGHTS IN SAID POCKETS CAPABLE OF KEEPING THE FENCE FLOATING IN WATER WITH THE SIDES OF THE FENCE SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL AND THE LONGITUDINAL EDGES OF THE FENCE SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL WITH THE SURFACE OF THE WATER.

BO MIDBY oct. 19, 1971 FENCE FOR ENCLOSING IMPURITIES FLOATING ON WATERFiled may 12, 1969 4 Sheets-Sheet l r um INVENTO 3o /w ma? wz ATTORNEYSOct. 19, 1971 B0 MlDBY 3,613,376

FENCE FOR ENcLosING IMPURITIES FLOATINGQN WATER Filed May 12, 1969 4sheets-sheet 2 FIG; 4

Ego YNO@ M "Wag/ ATTORNEYS Oct. 19, 1971 B0 MlDBY 3,613,316

FENCE FOR ENCLOSING IMPURITIS FLOATING ON WATER Filed May v12, 1969 4Sheets-Sheet Z Q5 LL VINVENTOR -Bo /Vl/DBY ATTORNEYS FENCE FOR ENCLOSINGIMPURITIES FLOATINGQN WATER Filed May l2, 1969 4 SheetsShet 4.

I -1 l I United States Patent O 3,613,376 FENCE FOR EN CLOSINGIMPURITIES FLOATING N WATER B0 Midby, Kaprifolvagen 31, Kungsbacka,Sweden Filed May 12, 1969, Ser. No. 823,604 Int. Cl. E02!) 15/04 U.S.Cl. 61-1 6 Claims ABSTRACT 0F THE DISCLOSURE A fence for enclosingimpurities floating on water, having an elongated two layer piece ofmaterial with spaced apart pockets provided by connections to the twolayers of material which pockets have openings facing one longitudinaledge of the material and floats and weights in said pockets capable ofkeeping the fence floating in water with the sides of the fencesubstantially vertical and the longitudinal edges of the fencesubstantially parallel with the surface of the water.

The present invention relates to a fence for enclosing impuritiesiioating on water.

The fence according to the invention is characterized in that itcomprises an elongate two layer piece of cloth, plastic foil or the likewith pockets formed by transverse seams or similar connections betweenthe layers, said pockets having their openings facing one of thelongitudinal edges of the fence and each being adapted to receive afloat element, said float elements being adapted to keep the fence in afloating position with the sides of the fence substantially vertical andthe longitudinal edges of the fence substantially parallel with thewater surface.

The invention will be described more closely herebelow with reference tothe accompanying drawings, wherein FIG. l is a side view of twointerconnected end portions of the fence or two similar fences, FIG. 2is a cross-section taken on the line II-III in FIG. l, FIG. 3 is a viewfrom above of the fence shown in FIG. l, FIG. 4 is a View in perspectiveof a portion of a fence during the insertion of the float elements, FIG.5 is a view in perspective of a fence floating in water, and FIG. 6illustrates a fence according to another embodiment of the invention.

The fence according to FIGS. 1-5 inclusive comprises a main portion 1which is made of cloth, plastic coated fabric, or similar material. Thepiece of cloth or the like constituting the main part 1 has a lengthcorresponding to the length of the fence and a width slightly exceedingthe height of the fence. As shown most clearly in FIG. 2, the piece ofcloth is folded along a line 2 slightly to one side of the longitudinalmiddle line of the piece of cloth. The cloth layer indicated at 3 willthereby extend slightly past the edge of the layer indicated at 4 at theedge opposite to the fold 2. This edge portion of the layer 3 is bent asat 5 and 6 to form, at the open side of the folded piece, a lid 7 with aflap 8 (see also FIG. 4).

LAfter folding, the layers 3 and 4 are interconnected by a number ofseams 9. lIn the embodiment shown, the seams 9 are arranged in pairs 9aand 9b converging towards the fold 2 in each such pair. As will appearfrom FIG. l, the pairs of seams 9a and 9b form a number of pockets 10,spaced from one another, the portions between said pockets beingindicated at 11. At the middle of the portions 11 the flap 8 is securedto the two layers 3 and 4 by means of one or several seams 12 or thelike.

The portions 11 between the pockets 10 are thus substantially closed bymeans of the seams 9 and 12. In the embodiment shown there is alsoprovided a seam ice 13 which can be seen to the right in FIG. l andwhich seals oif the portions 11 completely. On the other hand, each ofthe pockets 10 may be opened at their wider edge by folding up the Hapand the lid 7 when the fence is slack, whereas the flap 8 will bemaintained in its closed position as illustrated in FIG. 2 when thefence is straightened out.

The elongated part 1 is provided with coupling means at both ends. Forthis purpose a number of holes 14 are provided in a transverse row atthe end of the main part as shown in FIG. l. If two such end portions 18are put together, they may be laced together as illustrated in FIG. 1 bymeans of a piece of string 15 threaded through the holes 14. The string15 may preferably be stitched to the main part 1 as shown at 16 in FIG.l in order to prevent the string from becoming lost when not in use. Theholes 14 may preferably be provided with metal eyelets. The end. portion18 of the main part 1 may preferably be strengthened by folding over andstitching at 1.7 in FIG. l, or by stitching an extra piece of materialto said end portion.

Foat elements are inserted in the pockets 10 in the main part 1. In thepresent embodiment the pockets contain both float-elements 19 andweights 20. (See FIGS. l and 2.) The iloat elements 19 are made from acomparatively stiff material with a weight per volume of unit which isless than that of water. The float elements may for instance consist ofcork or cellular plastic or may be made in the form of an air iilledcontainer. The shape of the float elements 19 closely corresponds to theshape of the pockets 10. As shown in FIG. l, the oat elements aretriangular with one edge cut olf. As illustrated in FIG. 2, thethickness of the float elements is reduced towards the cut olf edge.

The float elements 19 are dimensioned in such a way that there will be acertain play (the spaces 21 in FIG. l) around the float element in eachpocket 10. This space is intended to receive the weight material 20which preferably consists of granular material with a weight per unit ofvolume exceeding that of water. Sand or metal balls or the like may beused for this purpose.

FIG. 4 illustrates the insertion of the float elements 19 and the weightmaterial 20. The oat element `19 is shown during insertion in the pocketindicated at 10b. The lid 7 and flap 8 have been folded away so that thepocket is open and the float element 19 may be inserted. In the pocket10c shown to the right in FIG. 4 the float element 19 is completelyinserted in the pocket. FIG. 4 also illustrates how the granular weightmaterial 2G is poured into the pocket 10c around the float element 19.The weight material collects at the bottom of the pocket. The iloatelements and the weight material will be maintained in the pockets bythe lid 7 and flap 8 which will cover the openings of the pocketseffectively as long as the fence is maintained tightened in thelongitudinal direction.

For the purpose of preventing the spreading of floating impurities onthe water the fence must float partly under the water surface. Thisfloating position is illustrated in FIG. 5 wherein the dot and dash lineindicates the ywater surface. In order to obtain a suitable floatingposition the float elements 19 and the weight material 20 must be chosencorrectly with respect to the material chosen for the main part 1. Byvarying the amount of weight material 20 the floating position of thefence may be adjusted. Also, the amount of the weight material 20 may bevaried for adjusting the floating position of the fence to waters ofdifferent specific gravity.

The upright floating position of the fence illustrated in FIG. 5 isnecessary for its proper function. Due to the comparatively large heightof the fence obtained in this Way the impurities are prevented frompassing above or below the fence. Also, the fence according to theinvention is easy to fold for transportation and storage and takeslittle space in its folded condition.

The upright floating position according to FIG. is obtained by placingthe weight material 20 in the bottom of the pockets and also by thetriangular shape of the float elements 19.

The portions 11 of the fence between the pockets 10 form flexibleconnections between the pockets containing the stiff oat elements, sothat the fence as a whole becomes very flexible and will follow themovements of the water, as illustrated in FIG. 5. At the same time thefence has sufficient stiffness to always maintain its upright floatingposition.

The connecting device illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3 and 5 and comprising thestring 15 makes it possible to connect together the ends of a fence soas to form a closed ring. Also, several fences may be interconnected bythe same means to form a larger fence.

The embodiment hereinbefore described has been chosen as an exampleonly. The details of this embodiment may be varied within the scope ofthe appended claims. As an example, the seams 9, 12, 13 etc. may bereplaced by glueing or any other method of connection. The shape and thevolume of the pockets 10 and the spacing between them may also be variedwithin wide limits.

The separate float element )t9 and weight material 20 may be replaced bya single float element with a suitable weight per unit of volume andwith a suitable location of the point of gravity.

The interconnecting device between the end portions 18 may also be madein many different ways within the scope of the appended claims. Theinterconnection may be effected for instance by means of buttons orscrews.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, the pockets 31 formed by theseams 30 have an hour glass shape. The weight 32 may consist of granularmaterial packed in plastic bags or may consist of larger stones. Theweights are intended to be inserted into the pockets before the floatelements 33 are inserted therein. Due to the shape of the pockets theWeights are prevented from being displaced upwardly in the pockets afterthe oat elements 33 have been inserted. In the embodiment according toFIG. 6 there are no lid and ap portions for closing the open end of thepocket. Instead, the pockets are closed by folding and securing theupper edge portion of the fence as illustrated to the right in FIG. 6.The folded around edge portion may be secured by stitching or by metalstaples or the like.

I claim:

l. A fence for enclosing impurities floating on water wherein said fencecomprises an elongated piece of material of cloth, plastic foil or thelike with pockets, said pockets having openings facing the same one ofthe longitudinal edges of said material, iloat elements each positionedin one of said pockets and extending over the main part of the height ofthe fence and tapering downwardly towards the other longitudinal edge ofsaid material, weight material in said pockets, wherein said weightmaterial together with the float element is adapted to maintain thefence in a floating position with the side surfaces of the fencesubstantially vertical and the longitudinal edges of the fencesubstantially in parallel with the water surface.

2. A fence as claimed in claim 1, wherein said fence is formed byfolding of a single piece of said material over itself providing twolayers of said material.

3. A fence as claimed in claim 2, wherein one of said layers of materialextends past the edge of the other layer at that edge of the fence wherethe openings of said pockets are disposed for forming a lid adapted tobe folded over said pocket openings.

4. A fence as claimed in claim 2, wherein said pockets enclosing saidfloat elements are spaced from one another along the length of saidmaterial.

5. A fence as claimed in claim 2, wherein each of said pockets enclosingsaid float elements has substantially the shape of a triangle one sideof which is defined by the opening of the pocket, and the other sidesbeing defined by seams.

6. A fence as claimed in claim 2, wherein said pockets are partly lledwith said float elements, and said weight material at least partly llsthe remaining space in said pockets.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 752,637 2/1904 Mankedick 61-382,682,151 6/1954 Simpson et al 61-1 F 3,146,598 9/1964 Smith 61-1 F3,184,923 5/1965 Galvaing 61-1 F FOREIGN PATENTS 804,640 1l/l958 GreatBritain 61-1 F 94,595 7/1959 Norway 61-5 PETER M. CAUN, Primary Examiner

